Pages

Wednesday, March 20, 2013

Fitness Is...

Bodies

What’s yours for?

You’ve heard the phrase: life’s a marathon not a sprint. While I like the idea of encouraging
the long view, I think framing life this way can be misleading. First, completing a marathon implies a
set distance that you must travel, when in actuality we have no idea how long
we will live. Second, it
necessitates picking a pace you can hold over the entire race, which, for most
people, means slowing down when they really need to be speeding up. Most importantly, a life lived at an
unwavering, marathon-like pace sounds about as fun as having a root canal. I’m not saying consistency is a bad
thing, but we ought to think of life more like a walkabout, where our pace is
determined by ability and preference, rather than necessity. We sprint, jog, or walk at intervals
determined by choice and circumstance.
This way the chief aim isn’t merely to finish the race intact, but to continue
to race as long as we want to.

On its face, I find it hard to believe most would argue with
this reasoning, but after observing common social behavior, I wonder how fully
it is grasped. Some people walk
around avoiding everything remotely injurious, carrying Purel in their purses
and always taking elevators. Others
are jumping off of satellites and doing double back flips on motorcycles. Still others appear indifferent one way
or the other, apparently unconscious of their own physical existence. So, why the disparity? If everyone wants to continuing living
as long and enjoyably as possible, why the disconnect in their choices of action?

It dawned on me that there must be a fundamental difference
in the way people think about their bodies, and that it’s this difference that
underlies the discrepancy we see in the way people approach longevity. After some thought I came up with 5 typologies
that I think represent the majority of society. While everyone is most likely a blend rather than a pure breed, defining them each apart from one another is a logical place to start.

The Pin Cushion

These people are habitually self-destructive. A constant source of stress, anxiety,
and irritation, their body is the most negative aspect of their existence. They think of it as burden to be born, punishing
themselves with a million daily pricks of the pin, from the food they eat, to
the clothes they wear, to the attitudes they adopt. Often times they hide their pain through outward
indifference: eating, smoking, and
drinking more than ever in an effort
to ignore the issue of long-term health.
Other times inroads are made but quickly re-routed by another
destructive habit—it’s as though they can’t get out of their own way.

Interestingly, this typology tends to attract the help and
encouragement of those around them more than any other subsection (apparently,
we like to ration our energy according to those who need it rather than who are
asking for it). Pin cushions are
seen as charity cases or hard luck projects when most are self-made, and
contentedly so. Therefore, support
is often perceived as pity, is rudely dispatched, and serves only to drive the
pins further in. After years of
this pattern, these individuals become an emotional suck on those who care
about them, causing withdrawal and weariness that further perpetuates their
anxiety. It usually takes a
serious health scare or medical diagnosis to break this cycle, but often times
it is already too late.

The Machinist

This is the category most people fall into. Machinists think of their bodies as
machinery, existing to move them from place to place, carry them up stairs,
jump them off cliffs, or lay them to bed.
Food is fuel, sleep is a tune up, working out is maintenance. They’re not overly concerned with the
way they look, only whether or not they can perform their daily duties and
enjoy themselves on the occasional weekend retreat. While this philosophy is extremely functional and pragmatic
and a large step up from the pin cushion, it takes no real ownership over the
process of fitness. These people work just hard enough to keep the machine
running but not hard enough to see it excel. And if a part goes bad—eh, that’s the cost of doing
business. The problem is: you
can’t turn this machine in for a newer model like you can a car or a lawn mower. As they age and things stop working, these
individuals fall into disrepair and don’t do what’s necessary to salvage what
remains of their life. Instead, they
shrug their shoulders and assume their machine just wasn’t built as well as
somebody else’s. It’s an outlook
that is only as long term as genetics will allow.

The Artist

This is the category that considers their bodies to be an
end goal, something akin to a piece of art or a classic car. Their goal is to shape and craft it in
such a way that they can admire and be proud of the result. This ideology has its merits, creating
for people a project to work on day after day, keeping them motivated and,
unlike the machinists, personally invested in the process. The problem is the artist often forgets
that his masterpiece must also be functional. He’ll spend years building his arms, back, and chest to look
good in a shirt, but then get out of breath chasing his kids around the
yard. Or she’ll spend hours on the
ellyptical every day to tone her legs, but have to ask for help to pick up a
box of dishes. These are
neglectful tendencies that limit our fitness later in life.

Furthermore, the idea that fitness can be an end goal is
flawed because we are constantly evolving and changing. It is literally impossible for our
bodies to ever “arrive” at our aesthetic goal. We may pass through it on occasion

(figure show, wedding day), but those types of moments are
only maintained in photographs.
Real life never pauses. The
reality is that your piece of art will rarely, if ever, live up to your
expectations, and you’ll never be able to hang it on the wall. So, what then? How does one stay motivated to work
towards a goal they will never achieve, when things like age, weather, and bad
lighting are factors that will forever be out of their control? Hitching your conception of fitness to
something so fluid is doomed to fail.

The Investor

This is the subsection that thinks of their bodies like a bank
account or a retirement fund. With
every hour invested at the gym they are ensuring a profitable return. In the short term, it’s easy to see the
value in this outlook. As you
dedicate more and more time to improving yourself, you will see greater increases
in strength, endurance, and skill.
Your body becomes more adept at handling challenges of all sorts and
your confidence grows in all areas from the process. Unfortunately, the body does not respond to investment the
way a 401k does in the long term. It
more closely follows the law of diminishing marginal returns. As the individual approaches his
genetic potential, the massive gains seen early give way to slower and more
incremental ones. Additionally,
the body accumulates wear and tear that limits its ability to train at the
level it once did, frustrating the investment type further. Still, he refuses to accept this drop
in return and redoubles his efforts, training harder and longer than ever. All the while he is accruing stress on
his joints and connective tissues that lead to tendonitis in the best cases, to
arthritis and joint replacement in the worst. These are setbacks that the investor struggles to deal with
because he is, again, hyper conscious of using every possible opportunity to invest,
improve, and return. Eventually he
risks becoming either too injured to continue or so burned out he gives up.

The Mariner

Finally, there’s the mariner. This is the category that likens their body to a ship, their
life to the sea, and training to a storm.
Every session they sail through teaches them more about how best to
survive the next. They reinforce
the bow, adjust the sails, and become more efficient in how they tack. Invariably they become better sailors
for having endured such trials, but they recognize there are repairs to be made
as well. Lines have frayed or
snapped, provisions were flung overboard, and their crew is battered thin. They understand that heading into
another storm is perilous until the ship is mended, even if they know the ocean
better than ever. Their goal is to
protect the ship that protects them, and always have it ready to sail.

This person is like the machinist in the sense that he knows
his body’s primary function is utility, but he takes greater care and ownership
of it than his counterpart ever would.
There is a bond and commitment to his vessel akin to that of the artist,
but without the need for perfection or the ignorance of functionality. Finally, he invests time and energy
into improving his craft, much like the investor, but he knows from experience
what the body is and isn’t capable of.
He won’t risk his long-term capability for any short-term return.

Without a doubt, the Mariner is in the best position
to ensure his fitness for a lifetime.
He is neither abusive nor delicate, obsessive nor flippant. He understands the need to work hard
but reserves the right to rest when necessary. When I look at those I respect most in the fitness
community, this is what I see.

The frustrating thing is that I’ve also seen flashes of it in
those I know to be pin cushions, artists, and machinists. I’ve had investor types question me
about recovery and long-term goal setting one day, then go hit triple WODs in
spite of knee pain the next. I guess this means the
potential for a better definition exists in all of us, but it takes time and work
to turn the corner. This reality, again, encourages the long view of fitness. We aren't capable of changing our physical appearance overnight--we shouldn't expect to alter our psychology immediately either. Understanding
our current definitions and why we hold them is the first step, but only one step. We have to reinforce this knowledge with action, day after day after day, until our new approach to fitness has become so ingrained that it re-defines our idea of what our bodies exist to provide.

18 comments:

Being physically fit means away from any illness and diseases. One is fit to do any activity or work. Practicing yoga is one way to loosen up the muscles and free the mind from any tension and stress. If you are looking for Yoga Wear you can visit us.

I hardly drop responses, but I browsed a few of the remarks on "Global Markets Update". I do have a couple of questions for you if it's okay. Could it be simply me or does it seem like some of the remarks appear as if they are coming from brain dead folks? :-P And, if you are writing on other social sites, I would like to follow anything fresh you have to post. Could you make a list of the complete urls of all your social community pages like your Facebook page, twitter feed, or linkedin profile?whey protein concentrate

Thank you and congratulation for this information.Fitness can also influence how alert you are and how you feel emotionally. Exercise is an important part of a lifetime of good health! We sifted through dozens of our best workouts and narrowed the list to 20 of the most popular and time-tested fitness programs or plans.Daily Workout Reviews provides in-depth reviews of fitness programs and fitness advice for practical results. Learn which fitness programs are best for you and find advice on how to accomplish your fitness goals.Thanks for sharing.....

Jennifer Smith was right. Being fit means being away from any illness. A lot of people just underestimated the value of fitness. They think that it's just for celebrities what they don't know is that it's very important in our life because if you have a strong and healthy body you can do everything you want and your self esteem is so high. montacargas colombia

This is really an interesting blog as it focuses on the very important topic. i came to know about so many things or tips. This is veryyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyy nice post.... Thanks for sharing it.......to all my friends......... Thanks.

This is really amazing. There are some people who are willing to join yoga and other physical exercise to loose weight and to gain muscle mass. Physical exercise and eating proper healthy diet makes you more healthy and avoid health problems.

Nice Post. Here you will be able to find many important issues for your career. Actually it is one kind of training center. What you want to be is important here. Suppose these idea. BDserving Technology

Taking your blood pressure and keeping a record of the measurements is important. It will give you and your doctor information and how much your blood pressure changes during the day. Blood pressure monitor is an important tool in tracking your blood pressure. It is important to keep track of your blood pressure to monitor your condition. Salveovita Health Care

Nice Post. Here you will be able to find many important issues for your career. Actually it is one kind of training center. What you want to be is important here. Suppose these idea. BDserving Technology

Taking your blood pressure and keeping a record of the measurements is important. It will give you and your doctor information and how much your blood pressure changes during the day. Blood pressure monitor is an important tool in tracking your blood pressure. It is important to keep track of your blood pressure to monitor your condition. Salveovita Health Care